In this session of Better Business Coach Podcast, I release my secret to hitting the ground running with clients from minute one of their first paid session. As a coach, you don’t have to leave initiating the coaching experience to your first paid session, you can set tasks that will aid you in your preparation. This task will ensure that you are crystal clear about where the client wants to go and that each one of your sessions has a laser focus in getting them there. Episode outline: “People with goals succeed because they know where they are going, it’s as simple as that.” - Earl Nightingale Over one-hundred years of business research tells us that businesses that perennially do well regardless of geography, market or conditions are the ones that set goals. The ones that fail are ones that didn't set goals and fail to plan. It is clear that there is a direct cause and effect relationship between goal setting and success, so why when coaching wouldn’t you want to know your client's goals right away? Regardless of whether a client starts with my "How To Get More Customers" program, standard business coaching,  or my "Better Business Coach - Solid Foundation" program, right after the client pays for my first series of sessions I set them the below task. 1.       Pick 3 business/career goals and 3 personal life goals, one of which must be selfish. Make sure they know that by selfish you mean a goal that is purely "I" focused and excludes family, friends and community. Unless you make this clear, some clients will feel bad providing you anything with an "I" focus. 2.       Ensure that each goal fits the below SMART criteria: * Specific – Not vague in nature. * Measurable – Includes a measurable element that can show tangible outcomes when seeking goal attainment. * Attainable – A goal that isn’t unrealistic. This is particularly relevant for a startup business. Many set themselves ridiculously high goals they don’t believe they can actually achieve. Conversely, others set goals that are too low, goals that even if they achieve they will still have a failing business. While not required for this task, and shouldn’t be given to your client at this stage, to do this well they can also look at available data like: o   What is market worth? o   The growth rate of the market o   Competitors in the market over the last year or quarter o   New player entries into the market A lot of this information will come during a worksheet I am soon to release called the SWOT analysis. You don’t want to go through all this right now as this will form part of one of your paid sessions. * Realistic - Related to the type of business you have. * Time based – A goal with a time limit for achieving it. Without a set time, most goals stay in the world of tomorrow and never have energy allocated towards their attainment. Here is another audio that explains SMART in more detail, with soon-to-be bestselling author Daniele Lima (please excuse the quality - this was my first attempt at a podcast.) 3.       Get 6 pieces of paper and write one goal on each in 250 words or less (BUT NO MORE!) These 250 words must also include WHY each goal is important to them (not their partner, mum, dad, friend or crazy uncle). The WHY is the most important piece and so many times gets people to go back and change their smart goal. I then tell a client that they should keep these six goals on hand and read them at least daily, preferably just before setting a to-do list and first thing in the morning. I also ask them to provide me with at least a few hours before our session so I can read them befor...